Tape perforating system



Oct. 26, 1943. R. E. MATHES TAPE PERFORATING SYSTEM Fil ed May 16, 19412 Sheets-Sheet 1 o o o 00 av 0000000 0000000000 Fly-2 INVENTOR A15.MATHES BY, I

ATTORNEY v R. E; MA'rl-lss v TAPE PERFORATING SYSTEM Filed May 16, 19412 Sheets-Sheet 2 'INVENTOR A. E. MATHES ATTORNEY telegraph printingsystems. In types of printing telegraph systems hereto Patented Oct. 26,1943 TAPE PERFORATING SYSTEM Richard E. Mathes, Westfild, N. J assignorto Radio Corporation Delaware 13 America, a'corporation of ApplicationMay 16, 1941, Serial Nb; 393,778

13 Claims. (01. 164413):

My invention relates, in general, to perforating devices, and moreparticularly to a device for perforating uniform guide andfeed holes ina papertape such as is used in certain types of fore known to the priorart, it hasbeen customary'to use for certain functions a paper tape inwhich are-perforated a row of sprocket feed holes along thelengththereof. Heretofore this tape has been perforated bythe manufacturerandthis adds considerably to the cost of the tape. The relative .cost ofunperforated versus perfo'ratedtape is not, however, the soleconslderation. It'has been foundthatrcertain mechanical advantages areto be derived from perforating a tape with uniformly spaced feed holesimmediately prior to its initial use in a telegraph apparatus.Accordingly, it is one of the objects of my invention toprovide a deviceby which a utilizer may perforate a tape in the manner hereinbeforereferred to.

In using pre-perforated tape such as has been customary heretofore,anyloss inthe tape itself prior toit's' userby the machine 'hasmeant'that,

a more costly form of tape has been wasted. It

, will be apparent, therefore, :that it would be 'a great benefit toprovide an arrangement in which the non-perforated tape wereperforatedonly in such quantities necessary 'at'the time oftits usage in theprinting telegraph system. 'Adcordingly, it is another of the objects ofmy invention to provide an apparatus in which the tape isperforated'only-when used by and in such quantities as necessary-rep the operationof such devices as hereinbefore referred to..

In carrying out the immediately above iden tified object it will 'beappreciated that theoptimum'usage of the tape will be realized where thecontrolof the device for perforating'the tape is subject'to the actionof the device which utilizes the tape, thus making the amount of tape.perforated dependent upon the actual operation of the device whichutilizes it. ,Accordingly, it is another of the objects of my inventionto provide an arrangement for perforating tape or likematerials to beutilized fin other apparatus, and in which the time. of perforation andthe quantity ofiperforationhwill" be controlled by the deviceutilizing'the tape.

Accordingly,

among the objects of my inven tioniarez w-" '2. To provide an apparatusof the nature described, in which the tapeis perforated only when usedby, and in such quantities as necessary, for the operation of thedevice. 5

3. To providean arrangement for perforating tape or i like materials tobe utilized in. other apparatus, and. in which the time of perforationand the quantity, of perforation will bacontrolled by the deviceutilizing thetape.

; 4., To provide a feed hole punch for tape, in combination with meansfor actuating the punch in timed relation to the feeding rate of asprock- "et Wheel over which the tape is'to' be subsequently'passed, thesprocket wheel being operable in continuouslyv periodic cycles.

, In general, my invention consists in providing a perforating device inwhich tape or the like material to -'be perforated is fed between themale and female elements of a punch apparatus,

'these elements being electrically controlled except in the form of Fig.2 and Fig. 2a which is mechanical In thepreferred embodiment, the deviceutiilizing thetape has connected to the driving element thereof, andoperable by the driverthereof, a commutator arrangement of the rotaryswitchwtype having a pluralityof brush memberspositioned in intimatecontacttherewith, the'commutator serving to alternately energize thepunch arrangement which perforates the tape. Since the commutator :willbe operated only at the time when the utilizing device, is actuallyoperating, it will be appreciated that the'tape will be punched only atthe time when the utilizing device is operated, and the quantity may becontrolled so that it is, punched only in such ,quantities as is.necessaryjat the qtimeof utilization. i

Myinvention willbest be understood byreference'to the drawings, inwhich: 1

Fig. 1 shows one embodimentof my invention. g I

Figs. 2 and 2a are different views of another embodiment of. myinvention.

1. To provide an arrangement of the nature described, in whichthe tape.may be perforated at the utilization device- Fig.8 isa furtherembodiment of my invention.

Fig. 4 is alstill further embodiment of my invention. I 'ReferringtoFig. 1, there is shown one embodiment of my invention. In thisflgurethe unperforated section of the tape is indicated at ll) and the,perforated section at H. The unperforated tape is passed betweenafemale-die wheel' lland a male punch wheel I3, thelatter havingfastened in operative relationship therea to a ratchet member MPositionedadjacent the ratchet mem ber is a pawl l5, one end'ofwhichengages the teeth of the ratchet l4, and,

[8' of a solenoid having windings i 9-,-and which is energized byasource of potential and current The windings IQ of the solenoid areconnected serially with the source 20 and'two com- ,mutator brushmembers 2| and 22.

In this particular figure the utilization device is indicated as a Creedreperforator head have ing a pair of guide means 3! and- 32. for thetape and positioned between the guide means is a sprocket wheel 33, thelatter being connected to a shaft 34 which is driven through a worm geararrangement and 35. drive shaft 34 is a commutator member 31 havingalternate-P conducting and non-conducting segments' therein. The brushmembers 2t and 22 arepositioned-'inthis' illustration in such a mannerthat a conducting segment of the commutator will electricallyconnect-150th brushes together. The; action of the device then is asfollows:

The utilization device, at the time that it is running, must alsonecessarily rotatethe commutator member 31'. This means-,'then=, that aslong as the-device is running, the circuit consisting of the solenoidwindings IS; the source of potential 2 0', and the brushes 2 1 and 22,will be energized intermittently. Wherrenergy flows through the solenoidwindings the armature-t8 is moved, which means thatft'he arr n3Niadvances the ratchet wheel-by on je tooth thereof, and accordingly themalepunch wheel is revolved; thus punching the tape in conjunctioirwiththe'female cliewh'eell 2'.

'Thespeed with which the tape is punched may be governed'by the numberel -"segments in the commutator 31". The arm i5, whichis connected tothe pawl l5; being heldin a normally retracted position di'le'to theaction of spring member 38,

each intermittent energization of the solenoid i windingsiifi willadiranc'ethetape-and' punch a number of" holes, depending on: thespacing of the teeth of the ratchet, and the number of punch members 'onthe "punchwheel. This will be'obvious to oneskilled in th art. It willbe appreciated' that there may be departures from: the

specific showing without departing from the spirit and scope": thereofas, for instance, 'it' may be found best to'operate' the commutator fromthe drive shaft through an appropriate" gear arrangement'inorder' tocontrol the number' 'of en'ergizations of the solenoid in a period oftime. It will also; be appreciatedthat the Cre'ed repertorator head ismerely illustrative otone type: of

utilization device; I v l Referring to Fig. 2, there is shownanotherer'ribodiment of my invention. The utilization device again isillustrated as being the Creed reperf'orator head. In 'thi s figur the"normal worm'drive consisting of lil and 4| is operated by the driveshaft 42 and connected on the same drive shaft 'is a Worm gear 43 whichdrives a gear member co operati velyassociated with a cam 14, thelatte'rbeing substantially cylindrical with projections 45" onftheouter"periphcry thereof. Positi'oned adjacent the cam 44 is a pivotedcrank lever flt having" apronusing feel'er fl'atoneextremity thereof andbeingpivotally held'a't 4'2.

"Formed integrallywith the crank lever Edi-e a lever arm 49 whichisarran'ged 'to press upon one back endof punch 58 against lever arm 49,and

also urges the feeler 47 toward th center of the cam M. A die 5! has agate formed therein,

' through which a strip of tape may be guided.

The tape is-suitably punched with feed holes by the shearingv actionofthejpunchiit when it enters an orifice in the die 5 l Referring toFig. 2a, there is shown the front "view of the reperforator head withthe associated apparatus. Ihere is also shown the sprocket wheel 53 withthe guide members 54 and 55 for lows.

the tape. heoperation of the device is as fol- The unpunched tape is fedthrough the gate in the die 5!. Since the member 46 with the Alsoconnectedxto the projecting ,feelerf l'l is normally forced in towardthe periphery of the member 44 by the action of the spring 52 and leverarm 49, the punch 59 will be heldaway from the die member 5| until oneof the projections 45 on the cam 44 engages'the member t l, atwhich-time the punch 53' will be forced through the tape 'andintothe diemember 5!. Then, with the passage 'o'f the projection 45 pastits sectorof engagement with th projection 41.,the punchletwill beretracted, dueto the action of the spring 52'. If desired}. the die 5! may have aplurality of. punch. holes arranged. longitudinally of .the tapeyandtin. cooperation with a plurality of punches 50,. so. es'to. perforatethe tapewith a number of perforations at each passage of the feeler 47over a cam projection 45. Since the punch will be operated only by thecooperative act'ion of the: member 44: and. the member ll with-itsappurtenant. apparatus hereinbefore described, it will be obvious' thatthetape will be punched only when the device is actually operated. i i 1ReferringtopFig. 3, there is shown a further form of my invention- Inthis'f'orm a lever arm 60 is pivoted at thepoint GI and: has connectedthereto the operating mechanism 62 for a gang punch, the: male section.of which isshowir at 63' :and thefemal'e-section of Whl ChTiS shown at64. Also joinedto the lever: arm fillis thefarmature 65 of a .potsolenoidrarrangement' having; windings 66. Further joined to the armfiil is a. pawl member 61. Also fastened to the arm fifl-is a retainingspring 68 ,and fastened to the pawl 61: is a retaining spring 69'. Thetape after being punched is moved by aisprocket wheel I0 havingco-operatively joined thereto a ratchet member Tl; the

' pawl member" 61- being pulled. into-,operativerelationship with theratchet wheel H by means of the retaining spring 69 The utilizingapparatus again inc this CaS'eniS; illustrated as aCreed re- -perforatorhead having. guide wheelsdlZ and 13 between. which the. punched tapepasses, and a sprocket wheel M, the latter being held upon a positionedin co-acting relationship thereto are 'two commutator brushes l8and-x80.

These brushes, with a sourc yof. potentials], form a series circuitwiththe windings ofthepotsolenoid -66.- The op'eration of theidevice'is asfollows.

Whenthe'circuitis closed between brushes 19 and thewindings'sfi' of-thepot's'olenoid; are

l energized by means of the source 81, and a sharp downward stroke ofthe lever arm results about its pivot 6|. This forces theinale'sec'tionfiii of the gang punch downuthrougni:the tape, thus2,333,024 perforating the tape. sequentially, the pawl gang punch andthesprocket wheel I0 is taken up and advanced to the sprocket wheel "of theCreed reperfora'tor head, :hence the tape is punched and utilized inaccordance with the demand thereon by the reperforatorhead. Since thereperforator head may be driven by the same driving motor which operatesthe machine utilizing the tape, and further, since the reperforator headrepresents one form of utilization apparatus,

no further utilizing device has been shown, such, for instance, as'anautomatic telegraph device. Further, all of the elements that make up agang punch have not been shown, since such punches perse are well known,but merely a schematic showing has been made for purposes of simplicity.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is shown a further embodiment of myinvention. .In this figure the apparatus is' operated by .a, shaft 90from the driving motor, and fastenedthereto is a gear wheel 9| whichmeshes with a driven gear 92, the latter being joined to a shaft 93having one end thereof. fastened in driving relationship to one side 94of a friction clutch; The other side 95 of the friction clutch isconnected to a shaft 96 having thereon a gear member 51, a stop cam 98,and a driving memberflS, the latter acting to drive a lever arm I00which is fastened to the forcing member IOI of a gang punch, the maleportion of which is illustrated at I02 and the female section at I03. II

Positioned adjacent the periphery of the cam 98 is a stop arm I04 in theform of an L-shaped .leverwhich is pivoted at I05. The spring I00 tendsto turn the arm about the pivot, thus forcing the end of the arm againstthe abrupt section of the face of the cam. Pivotally joined to I theextremity of the L-shaped member I04, re-

mote from the end thereof which engages the cam 98,,is the armature I01of a pot solenoid having windings I08. I

Positioned adjacent the gear 91 is a driven 'mutator III and the speedwith which it is rotated. The shaft sfilbeingturned in this fashion, thearm I00 will be forced downward during one portion of the cycle and,will operate the male section of the gang punch, thus perforating thetape. sequentially, the gear I08. will be revolved by gear 91 andthesprocket wheel I I0, being connected on the same shaft, will berevolved and will take up the tape which hasbeen punched, or

at least a' section thereof dependingon the relationship of the twogears .91 and I08, and the size of the sprocket wheel. Thetape, then, isfed to the sprocket wheel I I6 on the reperfcrator head. f I f J It willbe appreciated that various structural modifications may; be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and

,such modifications and equivalents will at once suggest themselves tothose skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. One suchmodification might be that the arrangements in Figs. 1 and 3 may bemounted adjacent to but separate from the utilizing device per se, orthey may be mounted as an integral part thereof. Similarly, thearrangement according to Fig. 4, which is shown as integral with theutilizing device per se, may be operated separately therefrom merely byusing a separate driving motor therefor instead of gearing to the driveshaft of the machine. Accordingly, I claim all the equivalents whichfall fairly within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined inthe hereinafter appended claims: I V I What I claim is:, I

1. Apparatus for performing a cutting operation upon a material to beutilized which bears a timed relationship to the utilization of saidmaterial, which comprises a utilizing device, cutgear I08 which isfastened to a shaft I09, which in turn has fastened thereon a sprocketwheel IIO. I

The drive shaft 90 has fastened thereto a driving gear I I I for drivingthe worm gearI I2. Fastened to the worm gear H2 is a shaft II3 havingguide wheels I I4 and I I5, and positioned between these two wheels is asprocket wheel I I6, the latter being adapted to engage the perforatedtape. These elements form a part of a Creed reperfora tor head, as inthe previous illustrations.

Also connected on the shaft II3 is a commutator III having alternateconductingland nonconducting segments, and positioned in co-operativerelationship therewith are two commutator ting means, a ratchet memberoperatively associatedwith said cutting means, a pawl for driving saidratchet member, solenoid means for actuating said pawl, andcircuit-closing means actuated in timed relationship to the operation ofsaid utilizing device for intermittently causing the energization ofsaid solenoid means whereby said cutting means is operated by the actionof said pawl upon said ratch'et.

2. Apparatus for performing a cutting operation upon a material to beutilized which bears a timed relationship to the utilization of saidmaterial, whichv comprises a utilizing device, cutting means comprisinga gang punch, solenoid means, means connecting the armature of saidsolenoid means to said gang punch, means for I I energizing the windingsof said solenoid means,

rotatable switching means driven in timed relabrushes H0 and H9. Theoperation of the device is as follows.

The circuit between the brushes, I I8 and H9 I is closed when aconducting segment of the commutator comes into contact with the brushesand the. windings I08 of the pot solenoid are energized through thesource I20. The arm I04, which. is normally held into contact with theabrupt face of the cam 98, is pulled away from the cam due to themovement of the solenoid armature I01. This, then, permits movement ofthe shaft 96 by the action of the friction clutch, and the cam willrevolve as long as the solenoid is operating. This length of timedepends on the length of the conducting segment in the comtionship tothe operation of said utilizing means,

and brush members positioned adjacent said switching means and inco-operative relationshiptherewith, said'brush members being con- Inected to said means for energizing the wind- 7 ings of said solenoidmeans and to the windings of said' solenoid-means whereby the gang punchis operated when said solenoid windings are energized by the action ofsaid switching means on.

' said brushes.

,3. Apparatus forperforming a cutting opera tion upon amaterial to beutilized which bears a timed relationship to the utilization of saidmaterial, which comprises a utilizing device, cutting means, meansdriven in timed relationship to the operation of said utilizing device,clutch means, means for driving said clutch means, means for deterringthe positive action of said clutch "means, cutting .means' operated. byjsaid clutch means; and means for"controlling the, ac-

tion' of said deterring means for said clutchin accordance'iwith theposition of the means idrivin'timed relationshipftot'the action ofifsaid utilizing'devicef y 1 1 4. Apparatus in accordance with "claim 3,wherein said meansfor d'eterring'th'e positiveaction of said clutchdevice comprises a-cam' having an abutteds'ection in theperiphery'thereof and lever means for stopping the rotation of-said camwhen said lever means is positioned. in' a definite position. r Y 1 5.Apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein said. means for deterringthe positive 'action of said clutch device'comprises a cam having anabutted section in'the periphery thereof, lever means for stopping therotation of said cam when said lever means is positioned in a definiteposition, and solenoid meansfor oper 'ating said lever means, saidsolenoid means being actuated by the action of said device driven intimed relationship to the operation of the uti-v -lizing device. 6'.Apparatus for performing a cutting operation'upon a material whoutilized and bearing a timed relationship to the utilization'of'saidmaterial subsequent to said cutting, operation, 7 comprising a utilizingdevice, cutting means, ro-

insaid tape, said holes being suitably spaced for subsequently meshingwith the teeth of said sprocket wh'eeL and means reciprocally opera- '-ible in timed relationship to the feeding rateof said sprocket wheel forcausing aperiodic actuation of said punching means.

'8. A telegraph tape feed-holejperforator in combination with a toothedsprocket wheel 0perable in continuously periodic cycles and arranged tofeed said tape to a utilization device, said perforator comprising anintermittently acting punch, a die member cooperatively associated withsaid punch, said punch and die members being operable upon said tapewhile it is being advanced by said sprocket wheel, and

means for controlling'the length 'of tape fed through said perforator independence upon the rate of tape feedf produced .by said sprocket wheel.

9. A device according to claim 8 and including electromagnetic means forproducing reciproeating movements of said punch into and out of said diemember. i

10. A device according to claim 8 and includin a shaft for said sprocketwheel, a rotary switching member having conducting and nonconductingsegments mounted on said shaft, circuit-closing brushes bearing uponsaid switching member, and solenoid means in circuit with said brushes,and with an electric source, for actuating said perforator.

' 11. A device according to claim 8 and including a reciprocally drivenactuator forsaid perforator, and cam means geared to said sprocket wheelfor driving said actuator.

12. A device according to claim 8 and including gang punch members insaid perforator. I

13 A device according to claim 8 wherein the last said means includes afriction clutch on a drive shaft for said perforator, andelectromagnetic means for releasing said drive'shaft so as to rotateintermittently.

RICHARDE. MATHES.

